This story was published on New America Media.

By Valerie Klinker

Ed. Note: At a Jan. 13 State Capitol press conference hosted by Senator Carol Liu (D-Glendale), the California Research Bureau's Homeless Youth Project released their statewide action plan entitled "More Than Just a Roof: How California Can End Youth Homelessness." The plan, intended as a set of measures for state officials and service providers, looks at a number of issues, including prevention, education and employment. A draft of the plan is available at the California Homeless Youth Project website. This video was produced as part of the California Council on Youth Relations.

Today on the Youth Radio Podcast, we explore emerging research on the teenage brain. Two teenage girls turn to science to understand their internal battle with post-traumatic stress disorder. Also, we talk to a Stanford M.D. who’s research on hypnosis could relieve stress and anxiety in teens.

By Chaz Hubbard, Jenny Bolario, Denise Tejada

Music by Luis FLores, Brandon McFarland, Derrick Underwood

Youth Radio explores how a shooting at First Fridays, Oakland's popular monthly street party, puts its future in limbo.

The following aired on KCBS.

By: Joshua Clayton 

Police treat my neighborhood in West Oakland like they’re on a playground, toying with young men like kids.

I remember a time when my friend and I were minding our own business, just talking and chilling in front of my house. Two cops pulled up and started asking us why we were standing outside, if we were on probation, or if we had tattoos. Imagine going outside to read a book on your porch, and two cops pull up to question you. That’s what happened to us.

I feel like police run around harassing people as if they are better than us. But they don’t realize they’re making it worse for themselves as well.

My friends and I don’t trust the police. Police are supposed to be the protectors. When most people hear police, they think help. But when I hear police, I hear problem. Police do a lot for the city, risking their lives for us, stopping the real criminals, making the streets safe. But my encounters with cops make it hard to see the good in them.

How can you trust somebody who toys with your freedom?

As a teenager who has unsuccessfully applied to many jobs, I have noticed that employers favor those with work experience. However, attaining important business skills does not always require conventional methods like internships, according to a recent article by the New York Times.

The article focused on 10-year-old Girl Scout Mary Ruiz who sold over 5,000 boxes of cookies last year with the support of her mother. Ruiz’s mother, Pilar, is known among the other parents for pushing her daughter to work 28-hour weeks during the Girl Scout cookie selling season. They have even questioned her parenting skills.

But Pilar has her own reasons for pushing her daughter to work hard instead of playing all day like other girls her age. Pilar believes selling Girl Scout cookies will give her daughter a good work ethic and teach her the importance of hard work.

 A survey of California voters by The California Endowment found that school counselors were considered more effective than police at preventing violence in schools (67% to 26%)

The survey conducted by FM3 compiled data from 1,200 telephone interviews a month after the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

A strong majority support putting more mental health services in schools (89%), increasing the number of trained school counselors (84%), and putting mentorship programs in place to support at-risk students (90%).

When it comes to putting more armed police officers in schools, voters were divided. Fifty percent support putting armed officers in every school, and 47 % oppose it.

According to the results, there is a gap between how voters of color view school safety versus white voters. Voters of color are more concerned about violence in schools, the possibility of school shootings and a lack of safety in schools.

In the State of the Union address on Tuesday evening, President Obama touched on several issues that might have pricked the ears of his young supporters who were instrumental in getting him re-elected.

According to CIRCLE, young black and Hispanic women provided the strongest support for President Obama among young voters in 2012. Young black male voters also heavily supported the president, although more of them voted Republican than in 2008.

Youth Radio wanted to know if young African American and Hispanic voters feel like the president is living up to their expectations and including their priorities in his second term agenda.

Jessica Brown, National Black Youth Vote! Coordinator, a national grassroots coalition that works to increase political and civic engagement among black youth, said that she saw lots of youth civic engagement on social media before the 2012 election, and that engagement continues to show itself on social media and blogs.

“In the new year, we’re seeing lots of activity still, especially on Facebook. We want to keep that going,” she said. According to Brown, she sees young people contacting their legislators to fight for things they care about like jobs and gun control.“You have to hold peoples’ feet to the fire,” she said.

Youth Radio's Josh Clayton is skeptical about Valentine's Day. He asked the question: Is it worth it?

By Nick Miller

Students from Redwood High School in Redwood City, California collaborated with teacher/musician Tom McFadden to make a rap music video that teaches a science lesson.

The video is called "One Bottle At A Time (Save The Fishes)," and touches on many common environmental themes, like polluted creeks, wasted water, littering, and carbon footprints. The students rewrote the lyrics to two songs: "Blow The Whistle," by Too Short and "No Church In The Wild," by Kanye West and Jay-Z. The project was part of the Redwood Environmental Academy of Leadership (REAL) at Redwood High.

(Article continues below.)

This piece aired on KALW, San Francisco.

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Even before the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, schools have long tried to figure out how to prepare and respond in the event of a shooter on campus. Lockdowns are one technique that school safety experts say have become more common since the 90’s -- after the school shooting at Columbine High School. Robyn Gee spent two years as a teacher in San Francisco before becoming a reporter for Youth Radio. We asked her to look into how lockdowns are being used in the San Francisco Bay Area.

On a Friday afternoon, I went back to the middle school where I taught until 2010. It’s in a San Francisco neighborhood with high crime, but when I worked there, we never used lockdowns.

The school is a typical California style campus with lots of entrances. Two years ago, it was easy to get in. Now, the front courtyard is more secure with a high fence. That’s where I met Philip Clarkson. He’s a new campus security guard. He got his job on December 20, 2012.

I asked him if the school does lockdown drills, and he said, “We are going to a class next week and we’re going to go over some procedures so we can do in a crisis like that.”

Earthquake and fire drills were typical in my classroom. We never prepared for intruders or shooters. I asked 13-year-old Lauren Urbina if lockdown drills for those scenarios are now routine. “Yeah. We lock all the doors and hide under something,” said Urbina. But she said she feels pretty safe at school.

As recently as a year ago, schools across the country, including this one, were toning down security. But now, there are more drills, and more officers around. San Francisco Unified is piloting district-wide lockdown drills as well as putting digital floorplans of all the schools in the hands of police. Read more...